Ainsworth State Park
Nature preserve
571 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: The original uploader was Mickmaguire at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Williamstown
Williamstown has 842 acres of parks, 235 for every 1,000 residents
10% of Williamstown’s land is conserved, about 2,677 acres. The biggest trail networks: Ainsworth State Park (2.1 mi). 36% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #46 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
2,677 acres · of 40.2 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
842 ac
235 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
36%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,051 ft
Mount Pleasant
Lakes & rivers
6
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Williamstown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Williamstown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Williamstown is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #46 of 71 in Vermont. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Williamstown’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land235 acres of park per 1,000 residents (842 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks close to home36% of residents within a half mile of a park · VT 38% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 72%
LessMore
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 36%
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Williamstown’s 10% is ahead of 33% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 21% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Ainsworth State Park, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Williamstown Town Forest
Nature preserve
66 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,677 conserved acres
10% of Williamstown’s land. Who manages Williamstown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits3,683 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)460 ac
Town or city235 ac
Not recorded599 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,829 acAgricultural Easement · 1,528 acUnknown Easement · 769 acState Park · 579 acLocal Other or Unknown · 224 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,843 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 19 of 141 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ainsworth State Park State Park | Not recorded | 579 | Open |
| Martin Brook Reservoir Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 158 | Open |
| Williamstown Town Forest Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 66 | Open |
| Orange County Fens Natural Area Private Conservation | Not recorded | 17 | Open |
| Orange County Fens Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 16 | Closed |
| Saldi Field Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Birch Lane Road Fen Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Closed |
| Bc Hoyt & Cm Seaver Memorial Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Rood Pond Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
| Rood Pond State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
6 places to go in Williamstown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Williamstown
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Williamstown
Mount Pleasant2,051 ft elevation
DirectionsLighthouse Hill1,903 ft elevation
DirectionsClark Hill1,440 ft elevation
DirectionsWest Hill1,358 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Williamstown
Limehurst Lake CampgroundFee
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.6 mi
Fellowship Ring2.3 mi
VAST0.7 mi
Town Highway 64 / Legal Trail 10.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
3Tennis
2Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Lareau FarmsteadBuilding · listed 2016
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Williamstown: May and September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 39 | 52 | 66 | 74 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 56 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Williamstown →
Next door
Williamstown and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williamstown | 10% | 0.4 | 235 | 36% | B+ |
| Barre | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Northfield | 5% | 0.5 | 117 | 68% | A− |
| Washington | 18% | 0.4 | 693 | 6% | B+ |
| Berlin | 13% | 0.4 | 374 | 30% | B+ |
| Graniteville | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Williamstown
Where can I hike in Williamstown?
The longest trail networks: Ainsworth State Park, 2.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Williamstown is conserved land?
10% of its land, against a typical 14% for a Vermont town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Williamstown’s trails?
Ainsworth State Park and Williamstown Town Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Williamstown?
22,712 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Williamstown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 844 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Williamstown have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #46 of 71 in Vermont. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Williamstown neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →